Man who 'died' for 40 minutes

A MAN whose heart stopped for 40 minutes was brought back to life by a surgeon who refused to let him die.

Doctors believed Patrick Kelly-Sporle, 63, was dead after he had a heart attack. There were no signs of a pulse, heart beat or blood pressure.

The former gamekeeper was visiting Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge for a check-up when he suffered a ruptured aorta leading to severe internal bleeding.

But Mr Michael Gaunt, a cardiovascular surgeon, refused to accept that he was dead and insisted he be allowed to operate. He believed that by stopping the bleeding, Mr Kelly-Sporle could survive.

Without the use of an anaesthetic, he opened up the patient's abdomen and found a gaping hole in the aorta. He inserted a balloon catheter to plug the hole while more than 20 pints of blood were pumped into the body.

As vital minutes passed, there came a faint pulse, then a heart beat, and Mr Kelly-Sporle started to come round. He was then sedated while Mr Gaunt began to repair the aorta in a three-hour operation.

Recalling the incident yesterday, Mr Gaunt said he knew he had nothing to lose by operating.

"The patient was 'dead' and it was very difficult to make the situation worse. Knowing we couldn't make it any worse, we decided to take a chance. I had read isolated reports in the past about this and I knew it could be done if everything was done quickly and in the right circumstances.

"The patient was obviously in the hinterland between life and death. Two doctors thought he was dead, he looked dead, there was no pulse or blood pressure and he didn't respond when I put a great slash in his stomach. But there was obviously a tiny spark of life there.

"It would be overstating it to say it was a miracle Mr Kelly-Sporle survived, but it is certainly unusual. If he hadn't already been at hospital with a resuscitation team on hand and an operating theatre, I'm quite sure he would not have made it."

Yesterday, more than a year after the operation, Mr Kelly-Sporle, from Horseheath, near Cambridge, paid tribute to Mr Gaunt for giving him a second chance of life. "We call him God's helper," he said. "He is truly amazing. He gave me a chance when other people wouldn't."